The present disclosure relates to dispensers for dispensing lengths of sheet material from a roll. More particularly, it relates to hand held dispersers capable of dispensing and cutting sheet material, such as a masking film, from a roll in tandem with an adhesive tape.
Many painting, trimming or other surface finishing tasks greatly benefit from the temporary placement, prior to application of the finishing treatment, of a protective material over a portion of the surface at which the surface treatment effect is not desired. This approach is commonly referred to as “masking,” and under circumstances where a relative large area of the surface is to be protected or masked, a well-accepted technique is to apply a sheet of masking material (e.g., plastic or paper) to the surface. The sheet is held in place by an appropriate adhesive tape. The masking sheet material and the adhesive tape are typically provided separate from one another, for example in separate rolls.
To simplify the task of simultaneously applying a length of sheet material and adhesive tape to a surface, hand held dispensers have been developed. These dispensers are sometimes referred to as masking machines or devices and generally include a handle frame to which two hubs are rotatably mounted. The first hub is adapted to receive a roll of masking sheet material, and the second hub is adapted to receive a roll of tape. Tape from that roll is guided by other components of the frame to a leading periphery of the roll of masking sheet material, bringing a side portion of the tape into adhered contact with a portion of the masking sheet material to form a composite masking sheet material having a portion of an adhesive side of the tape exposed. The exposed portion of the tape can then be adhered to the surface in question. An elongated blade is carried by the frame. Once a desired length of the composite masking sheet material has been dispensed and adhered to the surface, the handle frame is manipulated to sever the length from the rolls. One example of a highly regarded masking dispenser is available from 3M Company of St. Paul, Minn. under the trade name 3M™ Hand-Masker™ M3000 Dispenser.
A user can readily pull the composite masking sheet material formed at the periphery of the roll of masking sheet material from the dispenser by either holding the dispenser while pulling on the composite masking sheet material or by moving the dispenser away from the composite sheet material as it is adhered along a surface. The blade extends substantially parallel to the axes of the hubs to define a first side of a passageway through which the composite masking sheet material is pulled from the dispenser. The user can manually tension the composite masking sheet material as it is pulled from the dispenser (via the passageway), and then manipulate the handle, and thus the blade, transversely to force a cutting edge of the blade through the tensioned composite masking sheet material. Severing of the composite masking sheet material is effectuated in a progressive fashion, starting from an edge of the composite masking sheet material adjacent the handle and progressing toward an opposite end of the blade.
While well-accepted and highly viable, in some instances the cut edge formed by the dispenser may not be entirely straight (i.e., may not form a true right angle relative to the longitudinal edge of the composite masking sheet material). Due to the relatively high tension in the composite sheet material, the blade may deflect or flex slightly during the cutting motion. Thus, there may be some relative movement between the blade and the roll of masking sheet material as the material is progressively severed, possibly leading to an uneven cut edge. While the less-than-straight cut edge is easily accounted for or addressed by the user, some users have expressed a desire for straight cuts.
In light of the above, a need exists for a hand held dispenser for dispensing and cutting a length of sheet material from a roll of sheet material that more consistently effectuates a straight cut edge.